BE STRONG & COURAGEOUS
Boldness in Action
JOSHUA 1:1-18
1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, 2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. 5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it. 12 And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, 13 Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, F2 all the mighty men of valour, and help them; 15 Until the LORD have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the LORD your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD'S servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising.
16 And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. 17 According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. 18 Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.
Joshua is an unevious position. Can you imagine having to fill the shoes of Moses ? Taking the place of a man...who could speak to God through a burning bush...cast down his rod, and have it turn into a snake, and then retrieve it, and find it a rod again. Can you imagine being the predecessor of a man that could stretch out his rod, and divide the Red Sea....a man that could bring water out of a rock when the people died from thirst ?
Not only that...but Joshua now finds himself the leader of a group of people known for murmuring, complaining, backsliding...and wishing they were back where they came from. God now looks at Joshua..and says “You're the Man”. There is yet things to accomplish...Moses had led the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, and through many precarious situations...but now there is the “land of promise” still to be claimed. The inhabitants of the land still must be defeated, and dislodged.
How will Joshua manage to do this ? What does Joshua need in order to fulfil this awesome task ? The answer is that he needs, and has the same thing as did Moses. The power to do such things that Moses did...and to lead as he did are upon Joshua. He has been ordained of God to do this, and God will give to him what he needs to fulfil this calling.
In this chapter God instructs Joshua 3 times to “be strong, and be courageous” Last week we discussed the definition of Boldness it means courage! Be Bold! Such easy instructions....but how is he to be strong, and courageous ? How can he be Bold?
Last week we learned that we should not be Bold in our own abilities or strengths,but bold by God's Holy Spirit in us. In our scripture this week we are reading out of the Old Testament, and in the O.T. the Holy Spirit has not been given freely. God does however grant his presence to certain people, and those people are Bold by God's presence.
1. Stand on the Promises. V 3. What an awesome promise ! Though God’s servant Moses is deceased...his plans, and promises are the same.
The God of Moses is the God of Joshua....he makes his promises, he keeps them. If Joshua is to be “strong, and courageous” he must stand upon the promises of the word of God. If we are to accomplish what God calls us, and instructs us to do...we as well must stand on the promises....the problem is many are sitting on the premises instead of standing on the promises.
2. Sense the Presence. V.5 ...5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. " How can Joshua lead with confidence, how can he confront the battles that lie ahead ? He can because the same God that was with Moses is with him. A God that will not forsake, and one that will not fail. Every place that the sole of his foot touched was to become their land....and every step that Joshua took God was with him.
Today, if we are children of God, he has promised never to leave us nor to forsake us. He not only is with us...but is in us.
This is where the rubber meets the road, Joshua has been given God's promise & Presence and now he has to put it in Action
3. Stay the Path V7,8 ".7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. " If Joshua is going to accomplish what God has planned ...he must not turn...he must not compromise...he must not become distracted....he must not become detoured from what the will of God is. He must stay the path set before him. Faithfulness is the key.
It is very easy to be distracted by the things of the world, but some times it's those very things we should take action against.
It is Important to realize we can be active without direction. Does that do us or the kingdom of God any good ? Of course not. You have probably heard the statement "he is going a hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction" It is important that if we are going to be Bold in our actions that we are on the right Path.
Sometimes we’re going to get tired of the grind...feel like giving up.....feel like giving in....but we must stay the path until the end.
God blesses faithfulness ! Compromise leads to chaos....distractions often lead to destruction...but faithfulness leads to fulfillment. Are we being faithful...or is it possible that we’ve gotten off the path that God has called us to follow ?
4. Start the Process. V.11 "10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it." What God had told Joshua would have been no good if he had not begin to assimilate this plan. In this verse, Joshua begins the process. The transfer of leadership has taken place...Joshua believes what God has said..and begins to demonstrate it. He begins his journey of bravery,and courage.
It is not enough simply to know the word of God....sense his presence, we must put into action what he tells us to do. Joshua now begins that process. He takes action....he begins the task of moving forward. It has been said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. That first step is our action.
How about us ? We’ve heard the word of God...sensed his presence, and his leading...but are we still just sitting ? What are we waiting for ?
Let’s get going. There is ground to cover, battles to be won, Jobs that are unfinished.....let’s “be Bold in our Actions, and do it ! Joshua has giants to conquer and so do we! The giants of sin and evil in our society. we talked last week about the homosexual agenda of acceptance. We should allow marriages and let them teach our children that it is a lifestyle choice, not sin. wrong! my Bible says sin! We have sex and nudity and swearing on our televisions and it is acceptable. Oh, it's not ? Whya re'nt we taking action. Joshua is warned to keep the word of the Lord. what does the word say about adultery, and promiscuity and swearing. Do we take action against it? No. We are mamby pamby christians. The Lord gave Joshua encouragement, He said He would be with Him. Wherever he went. Whatever he did in accordance to God's word. We have been given the same promise. He will never leave us or forsake us. He has gven all believers His Holy Spirit to empower us to Action. Bold Action! I encourage you today, find something that is against God's word and take action against it, for the glory of God. Be Bold, stand up for Jesus!
